Orange County NC Website
She is alarmed by what the legislature is doing to education. She feels that the entire county is <br /> at risk of losing quality teachers, education programs, and art programs. Though not high <br /> income earners, her family supports higher taxes to support education and to fully fund the <br /> schools. <br /> Mary Faith Mount-Cors is a member of the Carrboro Elementary School Improvement <br /> Team. She said her family moved here 9 years ago, and one attraction was the schools. The <br /> team represents 630 students and their families, as well as 85 staff members and has <br /> requested full funding for both school districts' budgets. She noted that this school is over 50 <br /> years old. Recently the school asked Commissioner Dorosin to speak to them in order to learn <br /> more about the budget process. She asked the Board to step up and honor the community <br /> commitment to quality education. She said that the manager's recommended budget is too <br /> little and will not maintain existing programs and teachers. She said it does not cover the cost <br /> to open Northside Elementary, despite larger class sizes and cuts to teachers and programs. <br /> She said that the requested budget strives to simply maintain the status quo. She is in favor of <br /> a tax increase and said this has historically happened every time a new school opens. <br /> Jill Simon is a parent of a child in the CHCCS, a former teacher and is involved in the <br /> PTA. She asked the Board to fully fund their schools' budget request and she urged the <br /> consideration of any tax increases necessary to do this. <br /> Calvin Hinkle is a 3rd grade student at Morris Grove Elementary. He said that if the <br /> Board doesn't give the schools money, Spanish classes, computers and teacher assistants will <br /> be cut. He said that the community has a choice to give the schools what they asked for and he <br /> said his parents are willing to pay more taxes to fully fund the schools. <br /> Brian Russell said he is within the walk zone of the new elementary school. He has a <br /> four year old who will be attending in the future. He is interested in the communities taking care <br /> of one another in both school districts. He asked the Board to increase the funding to schools, <br /> rather than just keeping the status quo. <br /> Lauren Williams thanked the Board of County Commissioners for their hard work. She is <br /> a single parent, and her daughter is a rising senior who has had a wonderful education in the <br /> Orange County school system. She is worried that others will not have the same education as <br /> her daughter was fortunate to have had. She said she can think of no better way to spend her <br /> money than to fully fund both school districts. <br /> Laura Dougherty is a public school teacher and has two children in CHCCS. She feels it <br /> is critical to fully fund the schools, and she is willing to pay more taxes to do this. She noted <br /> that N.C. ranks 48th in the nation for teacher pay and per pupil spending. She said that these <br /> schools need financial support. <br /> Jamezetta Bedford is the Vice Chair of CHCCS Board of Education (BOE). She said <br /> she was surprised at some of the items on the CIP at the joint board meeting, including the gym <br /> at Cedar Ridge. She said she does support the auxiliary gym. She feels that both school <br /> districts have robust sports offering and the extra-curricular involvement leads to better <br /> academic performance. Speaking for the BOE, she said the board does not expect to be fully <br /> funded when the request is submitted. The request is based on state funding and it is much <br /> less than last year. She said the BOE needs the funding to open up Northside Elementary and <br /> meet other needs. She said that, whatever amount the Board of County Commissioners' needs <br /> to fund both school systems should be attained. She suggested a special district tax. <br /> Bonnie Hauser said she feels that the county is too focused on new buildings, campuses <br /> and facilities and is not giving enough focus to quality and effectiveness of services. She asked <br /> who benefits from the stand alone library in Carrboro and the $11 million expansion to this <br /> building. She said that there is much being heard from architects and designers and not <br />